Mamiit and Taino for the Gold

Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino have combined in order to garner a gold medal for the Philippines in the team tennis event at the South East Asian games.

From Manila Bulletin Online:
CECIL MAMIIT and Eric Taino fulfilled a vow yesterday when they towed the Philippines to its first-ever team gold in tennis in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Egged on by an SRO crowd never seen in a long while, the two Fil-Americans won their singles matches to anchor the Philippines' 2-1 win over defending champion Indonesia.

The left-handed Taino opened the day with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the veteran Suwandi Suwandi after which Mamiit clinched the best-of-three matches tie with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Prima Simpatiaji.

The deposed champions got a little consolation when Bonit Wiryawan and Sonju Wahyu Trijati nipped homegrown talents Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla, 6-3, 7-6 (74), in the no-bearing doubles match.

Mamiit and Taino will enter the singles event that commences today. They will also enter men's doubles together.

The #1 Thai and Asian player Paradorn Srichaphan was ordained last Saturday and will spend seven days as a Buddhist monk as a sign of gratitude to his parents. This effectively excludes him from participating in the SEA Games. The #2 Thai player, Danai Udomchoke, was not present at the team tennis event because he was in the final of a Challenger event in Great Britain. The Sports Illustrated Tennis Mailbag name favorite will, however, enter the singles event.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 10:27 AM